Cress, the Programmer
by Silverstardust99
Summary: A short story from the time before Cress started living on her satellite.


Hello! It's been a while (5 years, and I still remember my password, woo!) . I'm older (and hopefully wiser...)

But I guess I'll start out with the same disclaimer for nostalgia's sake: I don't own the Lunar Chronicles (Marissa Meyer is a sweetheart).

* * *

Deep in the lava tubes, in a hastily constructed dormitory, the occupants, children ranging from six to twelve, crowded around a small girl who worked frantically next to one of the communication ports. If they worried about drawing attention to their antics, it didn't show.

Crescent Moon's fingers danced over the portscreen. The other shells – even smug Orbi – couldn't hide their awe. Of course, it could all be nonsense, the way that the numbers and disjointed letters flickered onto the screen. They knew nothing of programming, and even if they had some inkling, the text scrolled out of existence almost as fast as it appeared. But the confidence which held the girl's shoulders steady and eyes sharp with intent wiped away all doubt.

After a brief pause and a determined set of her chin, Cress typed in one last command. The screen blacked out. A wave of disappointment washed over the audience. Orbi rolled her eyes and let out a self-satisfied snort. However, Cress held her breath in anticipation. She knew the network speed wasn't instantaneous. Three heartbeats later, a dozen folders cascaded onto the screen, ranging from titles like _Advanced Quantum Theory_ to _Lunar Policy in an Era of Earthen Aggression_.

A cheer echoed throughout the dormitory, dozens of hands reached out to pat Cress on the back: The cacophony of congratulations and affirmations of "I knew she could do it!" drowned out any semblance of the order Mistress so deeply insisted on. Because now, they could _learn_. Even those who had no proclivity towards academics eagerly yearned for the normalcy of school, the freedom that knowledge could provide.

As the chaos died down, Orbi pompously proclaimed, "Well great. It appears _Crescent_ has access to school on _her_ port. What about everyone else? Are you going to make us trade privileges to access them? That's so _selfish!_ "

Some shell's whispered worriedly to their neighbors; most just shook their heads at Orbi's sad attempt to steal the attention back to herself. Cress blinked twice in confusion. "I already uploaded all of the files to your accounts."

A deep red blush creeped into Orbi's cheeks, a menacing contrast to her pallor which had never seen natural light. "Oh. Well. As long as you don't expect anything special for this. After all, you're still in the same position as the rest of us." Orbi looked around, expecting nods of agreement, but most of the shells were already entrapped by their new lessons or listening to Cress animatedly explain how she accessed the net.

-0-0-

"Hey, Cress…"

Cress startled, fumbling with her portscreen before her grip on it secured once more. Even though she was sitting on the ground, she looked around the floor as if checking that it was still there. She gazed up at the older boy crouching in front of her. "Ah. Yes Julian?"

He had a slight grin on his face at her reaction, but it went as quickly as it came. He cleared his throat. "You know the thing you do… with the school…"

"Hacking?" Cress' face brightened.

"Yeah. Do you think you could find other information?"

Cress bit her bottom lip. She had considered the limits of her abilities before, but had never found the motivation to test them. "Maybe. It depends. What exactly did you have in mind?"

He looked embarrassed. But he must have already found his resolve because he met her eyes with a twinkling hope, "To find my parents."

Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Cress took a couple minutes of thought before a small smile appeared on her face. "I think I can do that… At least, I have a few ideas how to go about it."

A wave of relief rushed over Julian's face. "Thank you, Cress."

-0-0-

A month since she contacted Julian's parents. Almost as long since Julian disappeared with Mistress Sybil. Cress sat slumped in her bunk, staring at the wall, an empty shell. She hadn't touched her port since she threw it against the wall in anger, when it was clear that Julian wouldn't be returning. No one had ever seen such wrath radiating from the small girl before, nor had they seen her as lifeless as she had been since. Murmurs slid off of her ears, even when they contained her name.

They all knew she blamed herself for what happened to Julian, even though it had been his idea to contact his parents. Even though all of them encouraged her to do it, and took as much pride in her victory as she had. She had their support then, but why couldn't they give it to her now? They had no idea how to comfort her, and truthfully, felt just as guilty for Julian's fate.

It was Orbi, surprisingly, who plopped down in front of Cress and shoved her port in front of her face. Cress focused on the port, and then on Orbi briefly before losing concentration again. But the older girl didn't leave. Slowly, the scene captured everyone's attention. Because it was _Orbi_ , attention-seeking, self-absorbed Orbi, who sat before Cress. Even though the rest of them had given up trying to wake Cress out of her haze weeks ago.

Orbi cleared her throat but Cress only responded with the subtlest of movements. "I want to learn calculus." A few observers snickered, but Orbi shot them a glare that could kill. Her expression softened exponentially when she turned back to Cress. "Please, Cress? No one can do what you can."

She must have been listening. Tears welled up in her big, blue eyes. No doubt she was thinking about Julian again. Orbi did not retreat. She could not. "So. You're just going to give up? Cress. You're a genius. No one here comes close. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

She started crying, her frail body shaking uncontrollably. Orbi shot up immediately and repositioned herself right next to Cress, embracing the hyperventilating form the best she could. "Oh, Cress… It's alright."

"No…" Cress hiccupped, her voice was hoarse from disuse and distress. "It _is_ my fault. He wouldn't be gone, he wouldn't be de-" She couldn't finish before dissolving into hysterics. It wasn't much, but it was the first words she had spoken in weeks. Orbi petted her waist-length hair lovingly.

"We all wanted you to do it. And when you did, we all felt so hopeful. We thought that we could go home." Another shuddering hiccup. "It's our fault as much as yours. You can't keep doing this to yourself!" More trembling.

Orbi looked around at the others, but other than a few who gestured helplessly, they looked as stunned as they had been when Julian was first taken. "Cress. You can't give up. Please. Julian wouldn't want you to. He was so proud of you. No, look. Really, he was. He would brag to the rest of us about what you were doing." Orbi let out a little laugh, and a spattering of smiles across the dormitory joined her. Finally, the others seemed to gather their courage.

"She's right." Wane, Julian's best friend, joined the two girls on the bunk. He reached out and took Cress's snot covered hand. "I think you should keep programming. Maybe we shouldn't try communicating anymore… But you can't let yourself be defeated like this. They already think us shells are useless; you should prove them wrong."

-0-0-

"Incredible!" Screeched Orbi. Cress had just finished telling the other shells about her latest trip to Artemisia. She had to write a new facial recognition software to use in the outer sectors, but the others had glazed over when she started to go into the details of the algorithm.

They wanted to know if she had seen the Queen, what she was like. What food she had eaten, if the city was as beautiful as in the pictures. If the other thaumaturges were as cold as Mistress Sybil. Cress didn't have the heart to tell them she was rushed into the city in underground chambers and smuggled through back passages in the castle. So she made up most of the details. With her imagination, it wasn't that hard.

Regardless, everyone was in awe. Orbi, who had become a big sister to Cress since Julian disappeared two years ago, beamed proudly, "You might be even more talented than any Lunar with the gift. You might be the one to get us shells pardoned!"

Cress blushed. "You think? That would be nice…"

"Would it?" The cold words snapped Orbi and Cress into impeccable statues. How could they have missed the rhythmic tapping of Mistress Sybil's approach? "An insignificant shell, more talented than Lunars? Should we test that theory?"

"Mistress, I meant no –"

"Follow me, Crescent." Mistress Sybil interrupted. Orbi shot Cress one last desperate look before she was led out of the dormitory, the older girl's finger twitching, as if not sure if she should try and drag Cress to her side.

-0-0-

Cress took hesitant step off of the ship. "Don't dawdle!" Snapped Mistress Sybil. Cress hurried forward, finding herself in the middle of a satellite; one wall was lined with monitors, a mess of wires, and flashing lights. Everything else was outfitted for living; a bunk, a bathroom, what appeared to be a pantry. It was cramped. It was livable. Livable for long periods of time.

All fantasies Cress had of being presented to the Queen or traveling to Earth disappeared, however reluctant she was to let them go. "But – "

"But what? Didn't you say you needed closer access to monitor Earth? Is there something missing? Did you expect something else?"

Cress, as small as she was, tried to shrink into herself further. In addition to her fantasies, even her memories of everyone back in the dormitories seemed threatened. "No, Mistress Sybil."

"Good." Sybil's cruel mouth twitched upward. "Never forget. You are a shell. Even your programming abilities can't come close to the Lunar ability, and the crime of you being alive. Never forget your place, Crescent."

* * *

I tried to base this off of the Greek myth of Arachne the Weaver. But Cress seems to sweet to be that arrogant... Haha. I actually *have* written another Lunar Chronicle's fanfic... But you can find it elsewhere on the Internet relatively easily... So... Maybe there will be another five year hiatus. Peace out! Unless I find a glaring error in this after I proofed it three times...


End file.
